Museum will be open on Wednesday, April 11 until 8 p.m. during holiday
In celebration of the holiday of Passover, the National Museum of American Jewish History will have evening hours for the first time on Wednesday, April 11, when it will be open until 8 p.m. Visitors to the Museum can pay what they wish. The Museum café and store will also be open that night. The store will be offering a discount of 20 percent on Passover items on the 11th and the café will be kosher for Passover that night and for the duration of the holiday.
In addition, throughout the holiday, visitors will be provided with a Passover family guide that explores themes related to the holiday in the Museum's core exhibition. The family guide will prompt discussions about the holiday and the parallels between the story of Passover and the story of freedom that is told throughout the three floors of the Museum's core exhibition.
Each activity in the guide begins with a quote from the Haggadah (the booklet that guides the order of the Passover Seder while retelling the story of Exodus.) The family guide also contains questions geared to parents, non-family visitors, and older teens and includes definitions of the ritual objects and other items associated with Passover.
As Penny Kardon, Director of Career Strategies for JEVS, explains,
The program is for current juniors whose families meet a certain income eligibility requirement. This is funded by the Lasko Family Foundation, and it's in its seventh year. It gives students an opportunity to work three days a week in the Jewish community, at a Jewish organization, and two days a week they come to JEVS Human Services' Career Strategies Department, in the Youth Services.
These grants and scholarships ensure that more children realize the dream of an education rich in Jewish values and responsibility, where they achieve academically, while connecting to the world through a Jewish lens. Engaged, passionate and committed, they are tomorrow's leaders.
Each student will receive up to 33% of tuition at day schools throughout Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey, up to $5,000 for lower and middle school and up to $8,500 for high school.
These grants and scholarships are multi-year and are offered to new and existing day school students of all denominations. Qualifications and details vary based on grade level.
Don't wait another minute to give your child a Jewish day school education.
A limited number of grants and scholarships available at all day schools in Greater Philadelphia/South Jersey:
What do April 15th and the Shevat 15th have in common? Both are tax days! Two thousand years ago, the 15th of Shevat was when the twelve Hebrew tribes paid tithes to the Levites in Jerusalem. Tu B'Shevat, the fifteenth day of the month of Shevat, is described in the Mishnah as the New Year for Trees. During the times of the Temple, fruit tithes would be calculated beginning on Tu B'Shevat. Fruit that grew on trees after the fifteenth day of Shevat was counted for the tithes that were due the following year. These tithes supported the Levites, helped feed the poor, and paid for Tu B'Shevat festivities in Jerusalem.
Following the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, the Jews were exiled from Israel, and tithes were no longer paid. The Jews in the Diaspora preserved the memory of Tu B'Shevat by remembering their connection to the Land of Israel. In the Jewish communities of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, and Kurdistan, Tu B'Shevat developed into the "day of eating the seven species." The seven species are the seven fruits and grains that are listed in the Torah as special products of the Land of Israel. In the 16th century Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the famous mystic of Safed, and his students collaborated to create the Tu B'Shevat Seder. The observance of Tu B'Shevat has undergone many permutations
since that time.
How can you and your family enjoy this ancient holiday in present day Philadelphia?
Some hands-on ideas to bring your families the warming spirit of Tu B'Shevat this winter follow the jump.
There are only two ways to raise your children: you either shut them down or you open them up.
If you shut them down you raise them in a zero-sum world of winners and losers. You teach them that the world is a pie of fixed size, and that if they want more they must see that others have less or perhaps nothing at all. This is a fearful world of endless and often violent competition and retribution; a world of haves and have-nots; a world of us versus them where the ends (the success of us) justify the means (whatever secures the failure of them).
If you open your children up you raise them in a nonzero-sum world where abundance is the norm, and while there will still be winners and losers-those who have more and those have less-it is not a world that allows some to have nothing. This is a world rooted in compassion rather than competition; a world of us and them rather than a world of us versus them.
Three generations of Folkshulers in the Robinson/Singer family: My children Natalie and Julia Robinson, my husband Dave Robinson (z'l) and my mother Pearl Singer. Photo: Margie Singer.
— Sari Harrar
Philadelphia's Kehilla for Secular Jews and the Jewish Children's Folkshul has just celebrated a milestone — the 100th anniversary of secular Jewish schools and camps in North America. Today, our Folkshul is unique, one of just a handful of secular Jewish schools surviving in the U.S. But during the heyday of this important but long-overlooked movement, there were dozens in Philadelphia and New Jersey - and nearly 1,000 secular Jewish schools across the U.S. and Canada.
Behind the celebration is a long history - and some modern-day evolution. Beginning with one small school in New York City in 1910, nearly 1,000 secular schools flourished in 160 communities in the U.S. and Canada between 1910 and 1960, teaching Yiddish language and Jewish history, culture and values to the children of Jewish families. These included about 50 schools in Philadelphia neighborhoods like Strawberry Mansion, Overbrook Park and the Northeast. Nearby, there were secular schools in Chester, Reading, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. In New Jersey, there were secular schools in Camden, Vineland, Trenton, Atlantic City, Asbury Park, Long Branch, New Brunswick and many other towns. In Delaware, there were three secular Jewish schools in Wilmington.
OyMG is a provocative, important read and discussion for contemporary Jewish parents and clergy - first. Then give it to your teens and students to read and discuss with you. Issues of intergroup dating, in this case Jewish Christian dating, are vibrantly and frankly portrayed in this compelling teen novel format. You will cringe and cry and sigh and wonder and wish you had it in your hands sooner. I couldn't put it down.
Twelve adorable stuffed bears departed from the Union for Reform Judaism's (URJ) New York offices on a journey to over 100 early childhood centers in Reform congregations throughout the United States and Canada.
Izzy is looking at the Torah with some Ganon Gil Preschool friends while we were learning about Simchat Torah (Beachwood, Ohio).
Each of the bears — Bernie, Benny, Goldie, Hannah, Herbie, Izzy, Lily, Moishe, Rose, Sadie, Saul and Sylvia — will visit these centers over the 2011-2012 school year to teach young children about the importance of doing mitzvot (good deeds) and the value of hachnasat orchim (hospitality/welcoming the guest.) Each bear comes with a journal, the book Bim and Bom: A Shabbat Tale and ideas about what to do with the bears.
This fall, as the leaves change color and the record-breaking heat and humidity are a thing of the past, parents begin carting back and forth to synagogue for bar or bat mitzvah lessons.
Many of these Philadelphia-area families are preparing their soon-to-be 13-year-old children for their bar/bat mitzvah. While four to eight months seems like a lifetime away, these young adults will reach this important Jewish milestone.
Before the big day, students will practice prayers, Torah and Haftorah portions, write their D'var Torah speech and select a mitzvah project. Mitzvah projects are becoming very creative and individually tailored, as more resources online are available. One local resource is The Mitzvah Bowl, which targets teens/parents that are searching for a meaningful mitzvah project. The website allows families to search hundreds of mitzvah project ideas that are easily organized by interest.
Kenneseth Israel Launches E-Learning Hebrew Program for Elementary School Students.
BLUE BELL --- Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel (KI) Blue Bell is marking both the Jewish New Year and the new start of the school year by introducing an initiative that will take learning to the next level. KI's e-Learning Hebrew program is one of the area's first online programs for elementary age religious school students. Combining both in-class and online instruction, students will acquire a broader understanding and appreciation of Hebrew and their heritage. Enrollment for the program is now in progress.
According to Rabbi Kevin Kleinman,
"We are very excited about the launch of this program, which will supplement KI's one-day-a-week classroom program. By meeting with their instructors and peers in a classroom once each week, and then connecting with their teachers from home for Hebrew e-learning, students can include their families in the learning process as they explore and interpret prayers and study Hebrew."
As students across the country settle into their classes and extracurricular activity routines, it is as important as ever that children are educated about potential dangers such as stranger danger and sexual assault. With that in mind, you can now find the Smarter Kids - Safer Kids booklet on the B'nai B'rith International website in an easy-to-read format.
The booklet contains role-playing exercises and guided discussions that parents can use as a starting point to teach their children about how to stay safe. The guide includes practical information about how to stay safe when alone at home, what to do if a child is lost or when he or she is faced with a situation that involves improper actions by someone they know. As the brochure says, "If one abduction is prevented, one life saved, this program will be a success."
The guide has been used in communities across the United States at school assemblies as well as by parent groups. It is a tool that every parent should have about a subject that can be difficult and uncomfortable to discuss. Sometimes parents, who have been sure their children would never do something unsafe, are often surprised to learn that their children can be easily manipulated by offenders or misplace their trust.
I returned home from a sojourn in California, engaged with sustainability issues, to receive the new issue of Sierra, the bimonthly publication of the Sierra Club. The article that caught my eye was Dig In, its annual ranking of the environmental standing of U.S. universities. This year, they reached beyond the classrooms to assess "what lessons are learned when the classroom walls fall away."
The top of the class this year is
The University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. Its score on the Sierra survey was 81.2.
Every building [at the University of Washington] completed since 2006 has earned a Gold accreditation from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification system. All of its appliances are Energy-Star rated and the hydro-powered campus runs three farms, an extensive recycling program, and the "conservation-research hotbed Pack Forest."
UW's Paccar Hall (see picture) achieved LEED certification for energy use, lighting, water and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. By using less energy and water, LEED certified building save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.
The Sephardic communtiy has a unique mystical tradition for Rosh Hashanah. Symbolic foods are served at a Rosh Hashanah Seder. Some of these foods are also puns, and are called "simanim," or "signs." Special blessings starting Yehi ratzone, Hebrew for "May it be God's will," are chanted over these dishes. Here are some of them, and the traditions associated with them.
Pomegranate
Pomegranates are said to have 613 seeds, the same number as mitzvot in the Torah. On Rosh Hashanah we eat a fresh pomegranate preceded by the blessing:
"Yehi Ratzon Mil'fa'necha, Adonai Eloheinu She nirbeh zechuyot ke rimon." "May if be your will Adonai our God That our merits increase like the seeds of a pomegranate."
It is almost that time again. You know the one. The time to stick to schedules, time to wake up early, time to get out of the door on time. Ugh. It is BACK TO SCHOOL TIME!!!!!
Some children may have summer activities, camp, classes, daycare, but showing up late to those activities does not hold the same weight as showing up late to school. How can you be assured that you will be ready to get everywhere, with everyone, with everything that they need? Planning...Planning...Planning...
This past weekend, my father-in-law startled me by saying that the assistance that I provide to my refugee clients may not be in their best interest, that it may even hamper the development of their own independence. He urged me to interview my parents and ask them about the difficulties in their first year in the United States as immigrants. No one helped them, did they? No, no one or any agency did. He continued: This country is great because of the immigrants who've come and succeeded-- on their own. We do a disservice to them when we pamper them to the extent of inhibiting their own initiative.
I was so perturbed by this conversation that I sought out my Rabbi for a perspective based more on ethics than on Darwinism. How could I be doing wrong by my refugees?
or How To Get Out Of The House In The Morning On Time And With Your Sanity Intact
-- by Brandi Davis
It is 7 am. Your hair is wet, you are half shaven, the coffee has yet to kick in, and the adorable
little angel that you tucked in last night has transformed into a demanding, tearful, screaming, tantrum machine, all because you asked them to get dressed. They loved that outfit last week, but it becomes abundantly clear as it flies across the room that it is a favorite no more. An activity that should take 15 minutes has turned into a wet haired, pressure rising, yelling, hour and a half long struggle. Your child ends up being late to school and you, late to work. Your day is shot, but what is even worse is that today was not the first time that your morning has begun this way. This scene is now playing out all of the time. And about what?
Purim is over and we are started to prepare for Passover. Cleaning the house, preparing the seders and of course activities to keep the kids engaged.
Hazakah has just come out with a great new Passover-themed board game which the whole family will enjoy &mdash Chametz: The Search is On! I play tested the game with my children ages 4 to 19, and they kept asking to play more. This game would make a great gift or afikomen ransom.
Inspired by the classical board game Clue, but instead of trying identify a murder suspect and murder weapon, we are trying to determine which character left an item of chametz in which room. Here is the premise:
It's a month before Passover and Colonel Moti invites Rabbi Greenberg to give a Passover lecture or shiur in his home. A variety of snack are served. During the course of the evening, one of the members of the congregation inadvertently leaves an item of chametz somewhere in the house. Who left what, and where did they leave it?
Celebrating decades of tradition in the Pittsburgh community, Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools have announced a new program to provide free tuition for students who are new to Jewish day school in Pittsburgh and are entering grades 3-11 for the 2011-2012 school year. Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools include Community Day School, Hillel Academy and Yeshiva Schools, located in Squirrel Hill.
This was not the way I dreamed it as a little girl, or teenager, or young adult. I always imagined I would meet my basheret (soul mate), have a wonderful wedding with lots of dancing with family and friends, and have 4 or 5 children. But this dream was not coming true, and I wasn't willing to give up motherhood because I didn't meet someone to have the family with.
Shortly after my 37th birthday, I went to the clinic and started the process. I was surprised at how easy it was and how at ease the nurses made me feel. I went to the sperm bank at the hospital and had an "interesting" conversation with the woman about how to decide on the right donor. After I told her what I wanted, she insisted that, at the very least, I take a donor with some height (to counter balance my lack of height).
Valuable incentives to benefit middle-income families: Cozen Scholars Program gives $25,000 toward tuition to Perelman Jewish Day School.
Perelman Jewish Day School recently announced a new tuition-incentive program targeted to middle-income families and made possible by the generous support of local philanthropists Sandy and Steve Cozen. The Cozen Scholars Program is offered to new Perelman families with children entering kindergarten or first grade. Qualifying applicants will receive a valuable grant toward tuition - $5,000 for each of five years, totaling $25,000 per child.
The Cozens, longtime benefactors of many charitable causes, created this valuable program to help families that do not qualify for financial aid but also cannot afford the cost of tuition. Sandy Cozen was the driving force behind this idea. "As proud Perelman grandparents, we've seen firsthand what this school does for children. It is our mandate to connect as many students as possible to this outstanding institution - and to ensure the future viability of the Jewish people," says Steve Cozen, founder and chairman of Cozen O'Connor, a Philadelphia-based law firm.
"Today more than ever, many people face difficult choices about finances - and often, private school is just not an option," adds Shira Wohlberg, Director of Admission. "The Cozen Scholars Program helps middle-income families realize the dream of a Perelman education. We're excited to offer this wonderful incentive to the community."
A limited number of grants is available, and middle-income is broadly defined, giving many families the opportunity to attend Perelman. Other tuition incentives may be possible for families that are not eligible for this program. Parents are encouraged to contact the Admission office at 215-635-3130, to learn more about the program.
The Jewish Employment and Vocational Service offers paid summer work, college counseling, and SAT tutoring to Jewish high school seniors.
The Lasko College Prep Program offers college-bound students the opportunity to earn money while obtaining free expert college counseling and ACT/SAT test prep. Current high school juniors in the Greater Philadelphia area are encouraged to apply for this special program offered by JEVS Human Services. Sessions begin the summer before the participants' senior year, and experienced educational counselors continue to work with them through their last year of high school, helping them reach their college admissions goals.
The program includes:
Summer work resulting in a $1000 stipend
SAT and ACT preparation
College guidance
Financial aid counseling
Visits to local colleges
Fun group activities with other Jewish students, including a Mitzvah Project
Mentoring by college students participating in our Franklin C. Ash Summer Internship Program
A second award of $1000 once participant is successfully enrolled in college
For more information and eligibility requirements, call 215-854-1834 or email peggy.truitt@jevs.org. This program is supported by grants from the Lasko Family Foundation.
PHILADELPHIA - "Being Jewish at Christmas," the National Museum of American Jewish History's annual day of family fun, will be bigger and better than ever this year as the popular program is hosted for the first time in the new Museum building, which opened in November.
"Being Jewish at Christmas" will include the music of Jon Nelson's Rockin' Kids Review, returning this year to rock the house in the 200-seat Dell Theater.
"Being Jewish at Christmas," featuring music, comedy and more, is being held this year on Friday, December 24 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. in order not to conflict with the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday, Dec. 25. Performances begin at 11 a.m. and will repeat at noon and 1 p.m.
This chapter may strike some of you as being politically incorrect and, indeed, I make no apologies if that is your reaction. The issue at play is the campus assault on Israel, and the invidious de-legitimization of Israel phenomena that is taking place on college campuses across America. But, before identifying areas of concern, let me emphasize that
Jewish students have never had it so good on university campuses across America, and
the temperature of the campus assault today is much lower than it was in 2002 when a number of major college campuses, such as Columbia and San Diego State, were seething with anti-Israeli sentiment.
But, what is it all about? To answer this question, a bit of modern Jewish history is required.
Sixty miraculous years ago, the State of Israel was created. It is common knowledge that the creation of the state of Israel was supported by Harry Truman, albeit with a bit of ambivalence. Witness, for example, Truman's editing of the US statement of recognition in which Truman excised the reference to recognizing "the government of the Jewish state" and wrote in his own hand "the provisional government of the state of Israel."
To fight the national epidemic of childhood obesity, San Francisco recently passed a resolution forbidding toys being bundled with children's meals such McDonalds' "Happy Meal" unless they do not meet certain basic nutritional standards as an effort. This law has been criticized as denying parents the right to chose how to raise their children. Critics bring up the specter of an "overprotective nanny state."
On the contrary, this law opens up choices for parents. They can buy the toy by itself, the "happy meal" by itself, a "healthy meal" by itself, or buy a toy along with either meal and slip it inside before giving it to their child instead of being trapped into McDonalds' logic of all-or-nothing.
This a great win for parents, healthy children, freedom of choice, and capitalism.
My extended family and I just returned from a family trip to Israel and Egypt to celebrate our younger son's Bar Mitzvah. We are grateful and blessed that our dream trip was realized. We marked Noah's becoming a man in the Jewish tradition at the Kotel (the western wall in the Old City of Jerusalem) with 14 members of our family, including all four grandparents, an uncle, cousins, and friends. It was a simcha (happy occasion) beyond words: magical; spiritual; exceeding our every anticipation and expectation. We traveled throughout Israel for 11 days, and then spent four days in Egypt.
Observations? Lessons learned? I have many, but here are just a few:
The chances are fair that, if you, as Jewish parents, are taking the time to read this book, you probably already have a working awareness of the universe of colleges and that, in general, you probably are proceeding from a position of accomplishment in your own right. But, for what I have to say next, it doesn't matter. Think hard and expansively, for a moment, about what you want most for your aspiring college kid. Now, think equally hard of what you hope for him or her as a Jew. It should be no surprise to any of us that, with success and acceptance, assimilation has taken a toll on the continuity of Judaism in the United States. Studies indicate that almost 50% of young Jewish adults are marrying outside of the faith, and, of that number, substantially less than half are likely to raise their children as Jews.
A Cultural Guide to Colleges for College for Jewish Parents
If your child is in middle school or high school, you are probably thinking ahead to his or her college studies. What University would be best for your child? Where will he or her thrive, and grow not just academically, but socially, and Jewishly?
Jerome Ostrov has visited schools all over the country and has written the book Oy Vey: It's Time to Apply and created the website JewishCollegeExchange.com to share his knowledge with Jewish parents. Not only does he present the pros and cons of each school from the point of view of a Jewish parent, but he gives practical advice to increase your chances of having the school accept your child, and just as critically have your child accept the school.
Once at school, your child will be exposed to other groups and ideas, so it is important for your child to be well grounded in our own culture, our own values and our own history in order to navigate college successfully. Accordingly, Ostrov reviews the history of the Israel-Arab conflict and emphasizes the importance of Jewish day schools and summer camps so you can defend your child against the pro-Palestinian activists prevalent on so many campuses.
Given the economic realities that we are living in, paying for college is more difficult than ever. His list of three colleges with over $50,000 tuition has grown to three pages, so Ostrov provides important financial aid information.
Be sure this book is on your bookshelves and refer to it as you guide your children along the path to adulthood.
On August 30, the dream of a full day Jewish child care program in Center City Philadelphia will become a reality as the Buerger Early Learning Center officially opens its doors. The center, which will be located at Congregation Rodeph Shalom, 619 North Broad Street, represents a partnership between the synagogue and Federation Early Learning Services (FELS).
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— by 
Izzy is looking at the Torah with some Ganon Gil Preschool friends while we were learning about Simchat Torah (Beachwood, Ohio).
and ideas about what to do with the bears.
-- by Cheryl Friedenberg and Val Franklin
Many of these Philadelphia-area families are preparing their soon-to-be 13-year-old children for their bar/bat mitzvah. While four to eight months seems like a lifetime away, these young adults will reach this important Jewish milestone.
Pomegranate
Purim is over and we are started to prepare for Passover. Cleaning the house, preparing the seders and of course activities to keep the kids engaged.
Celebrating decades of tradition in the Pittsburgh community, Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools have announced a new program to provide free tuition for students who are new to Jewish day school in Pittsburgh and are entering grades 3-11 for the 2011-2012 school year. Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools include Community Day School, Hillel Academy and Yeshiva Schools, located in Squirrel Hill.
-- 
The Lasko College Prep Program offers college-bound students the opportunity to earn money while obtaining free expert college counseling and ACT/SAT test prep. Current high school juniors in the Greater Philadelphia area are encouraged to apply for this special program offered by JEVS Human Services. Sessions begin the summer before the participants' senior year, and experienced educational counselors continue to work with them through their last year of high school, helping them reach their college admissions goals.
-- 
